Venice boardwalk crash: One dead, person detained for questioning

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Deputies escort Nathan Louis Campbell at the Airport Courthouse, where he was arraigned Aug. 6, 2013, on charges of driving into crowds on the Venice boardwalk, killing a honeymooning Italian woman and injuring 16 others. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Piero Casadei, left, and Katia Gruppioni, the father-in-law and aunt of Alice Gruppioni, visit a memorial at the boardwalk on Aug. 5, 2013. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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People gather at the Venice boardwalk to remember the victims of the Aug. 3, 2013 crash. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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A card bears the photo of Christian Casadei and Alice Gruppioni, who were on their honeymoon when Gruppioni was killed and Casadei injured. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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Visitors leave flowers and pay their respects at a memorial on the Venice boardwalk. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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Lisa Green, left, and Toneey Acevedo, right, stop to place remembrances at a makeshift memorial on the Venice Boardwalk near Dudley Avenue. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Remembrances and flowers at a makeshift memorial. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Life resumes on the Venice Boardwalk after a deadly crash. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Witnesses described a blue Dodge zigzagging along Ocean Front Walk, striking pedestrians and vendors before speeding away. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Bystanders, police and firefighters at the scene of the Aug. 3, 2013, incident in which a crowd of pedestrians was struck in Venice Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

By Ari Bloomekatz

Aug. 3, 2013 10:50 PM PT

At least one person has died after a driver slammed into a crowd of pedestrians on the Venice boardwalk Saturday evening, and authorities say a person has been detained for questioning.

The incident occurred about 6 p.m. at the boardwalk’s intersection with Dudley Avenue. “The vehicle appeared to be moving purposefully down the boardwalk, according to witnesses,” said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Humphrey said initially that a dozen people people had been injured, two critically and two seriously, while the rest sustained minor injuries.

PHOTOS: Venice boardwalk crash

But later Saturday night, Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Andy Neiman said that “tragically, one of the victims in this incident has died.”

Neiman also said someone was being questioned in connection with the crash.

Authorities said witnesses described a dark-colored sedan striking the crowd.
Kevin Salveson, 44, was riding his bike with his children near the area Saturday evening when they heard a scream.

“We turned around and I saw a car heading toward and plunging into a booth ... that was terrible,” Salveson said. “The guy literally turned the wheel and headed out of the booth and ... toward another.

“His window was open and I looked in the car and I saw him ... smiling,” he said.

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Twitter: @aribloomekatz | Facebook

ari.bloomekatz@latimes.com